New-generation liquor store, Five Guys slated for Monroeville

Lillian DeDomenic | For The Times Express - Former site of the Roth Carpet store and soon-to-be home of a wine and spirits store in Monroeville at the intersection of William Penn Highway and Northern Pike.

Lillian DeDomenic | For The Times Express - Former site of the Roth Carpet store and soon-to-be home of a wine and spirits store in Monroeville at the intersection of William Penn Highway and Northern Pike.

Daily Photo Galleries

A new-look liquor store and a burger shop are scheduled to open on Monroeville Boulevard on the former Roth Carpet property in coming months.

A Wine & Spirits superstore is expected to open by spring of 2013, said Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

The store will include 8,400 square feet of retail space, which is more than twice the size of the Wines and Spirits on William Penn Highway, Kriedeman said.

The extra space will allow for a larger selection of wine and liquor, as well as a counter in the center of the store where customers can taste wines and liquors, Kriedeman said.

The LCB has not decided if the store on William Penn Highway, which opened in late 1955, will remain open, Kriedeman said.

Opening next door to the new Wine & Spirits will be Five Guys Burger and Fries, which also is expected to open by this spring, said developer Craig Cozza.

In recent years, Five Guys restaurants have established a presence in the Pittsburgh region. Five Guys restaurants have opened in Murrysville, North Huntingdon, Fox Chapel, Tarentum and Hempfield in recent years.

The redevelopment of Roth Carpet is one of a number of real-estate maneuvers in Monroeville performed by Pittsburgh-based Cozza Enterprises — which Cozza heads — over the past six years.

“I think Craig has been an asset to the community,” said Monroeville Mayor Greg Erosenko. “He certainly has helped our local economy, providing good jobs. He's a visionary with his business dealings.”

In 2006, Cozza purchased the Palace Inn at the intersection of Routes 22 and 48 and then sold the property to UPMC.

While he initially was leaning toward transforming the former hotel in to a casino, the project wasn't worth the additional costs involved, he said.

“We already spent millions of dollars gutting the place,” Cozza said. “You have to be ready to evolve and change. At some point the money makes sense.”

He used a portion of the profit to build four stores at the former BP location in the Miracle Mile Shopping Center — Pro Bikes, GNC, AT&T and Elite Runners & Walkers.

Pro Bikes was a pet project for Cozza, who said fellow cyclists have traveled from as far as Altoona to shop there. It also was one of his more difficult projects, because of the environmental risks of developing at a former gas station.

“It was a blighted, ugly property just sitting there, and we figured out a way to make it work environmentally,” he said.

Cozza also was the developer who brought Levin Mattress and Noodles & Co. to the former Electra Lighting location along William Penn Highway.

Kyle Lawson is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-856-7400, ext. 8755, or klawson@tribweb.com.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Print Source

Welcome to PrintSource, a division of Trib Total Media.

We have established a veteran team that provides daily and weekly newspaper companies with a comprehensive set of services that include design, print, packaging and delivery of their products, all from one source and location.

Gone are the days when each facet of newspaper printing and delivery had to be outsourced to different companies and venues. Now, PrintSource provides a viable solution with just one phone call.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.